Impact

This provides an opportunity to create diverse and generative spaces for participants that foster psychosocial wellbeing. Its projects are purposefully designed to benefit community members, students, and artists beyond the intrinsic value of creative expression by directly addressing self-expression, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and community connectedness.

. The idea that these visual artforms elicit positive benefits for well-being can be seen evolving since prehistoric times. Early forms of art in the Paleolithic era were associated with healing rituals that alluded to the intersectionality of arts and health (1). Since then, recent studies have explored the scientific basis of the physiological, social, and cognitive benefits of viewing and creating visual art (2, 3). Visual art is an effective and feasible tool to support one’s physiological, social, and environmental health due to the accommodating variety of sub-disciplines including portrait art. Engaging in portrait art can improve perceptions of the domains of self as virtuous and worthy, as illustrated in Steele’s (1988) self-affirmation theory. With an environment to reflect on memories, emotions, and current events, participants tend to engage in dialogue and express an increased in sense of self, safety, and spirit (4). This can consequently elicit positive affirmations and strengthen self-identity, contributing to increased confidence and resiliency to future adversities. Overall, visual arts provides a feasible and effective means for creative expression that can effect our well-being.